Extreme Rules (2009)
Extreme Rules (2009) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which took place on June 7, 2009, at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was presented by AT&T. It was the first event promoted under the Extreme Rules name, and initially noted by WWE to be a direct continuation of the One Night Stand chronology. It featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands. There were eight matches scheduled on the event's card, though nine actually took place. The main event was a Ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship, which saw Jeff Hardy defeat the reigning champion Edge to win the title. After the match, CM Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, which guaranteed him a title match at the time and place of his choosing, and defeated Hardy for his newly won title. There were also two other highly publicized matches; the first was a steel cage match for the WWE Championship between the champion Randy Orton and Batista, as well as a submission match between The Big Show and John Cena. Featured matches on the undercard included a No Holds Barred match between Rey Mysterio and Chris Jericho for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, CM Punk versus Umaga in a Samoan Strap match and a Triple Threat Hardcore match for the ECW Championship. The event had 213,000 buys, up from the One Night Stand 2008 figure of 194,000 buys. Storylines Extreme Rules featured professional wrestling matches that were all contested under some type of stipulation. It involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines that played out on Raw, Friday Night SmackDown, ECW on Sci-Fi and WWE Superstars—World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) television programs. Wrestlers portrayed a villain or a hero as they follow a series of events that build tension, and culminate into a wrestling match or series of matches. All wrestlers were from WWE's Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands—a storyline division in which WWE employees are assigned to a television program of the same name. The primary rivalry heading into Extreme Rules from the Raw brand was between Randy Orton and Batista, who were feuding over the WWE Championship. At WWE's previous pay-per-view event, Judgment Day, Orton lost his match against Batista by getting himself intentionally disqualified for hitting the referee, but retained the WWE Championship. As a result, on the May 18 episode of Raw, Ric Flair, an associate of Batista, announced that the Raw general manager, Vickie Guerrero, had decided that Orton was to face Batista in a steel cage match at Extreme Rules, once again defending his WWE Championship. Another rivalry from the Raw brand was between John Cena and Big Show. At WWE's April pay-per-view, Backlash, Big Show interfered in Cena's Last Man Standing match against Edge and chokeslammed him though a spotlight, causing Cena to lose the match and the World Heavyweight Championship to Edge; Cena exacted revenge at Judgment Day with a pinfall victory over Big Show. Then, on the May 18 episode of Raw, it was announced Big Show would have a rematch with Cena at Extreme Rules in a submission match, which can only be won by a wrestler forcing their opponent to submit. The main rivalry heading into Extreme Rules from the SmackDown brand was between Edge and Jeff Hardy over the World Heavyweight Championship. After Edge retained the championship against Jeff Hardy at Judgment Day, Theodore Long, the SmackDown general manager, announced on the May 22 episode of SmackDown that, due to Matt Hardy's interference in the title match at Judgment Day, Jeff Hardy was to receive a rematch against Edge, to be contested under an Extreme Rule, with the stipulation being chosen by winner of the match between the two later in the night; Hardy won the match, and chose a ladder match, which requires the competitors in the match to climb a ladder to obtain the title belt suspended over the ring in order to win. After defeating CM Punk at Judgment Day, Umaga continued to attack Punk, and interfered in Punk's match with Chris Jericho on the May 22 episode of SmackDown, assaulting him with a leather strap, and issuing a challenge to Punk for what he called a Samoan strap match at Extreme Rules. The primary rivalry from the ECW brand was between Christian, Jack Swagger, and Tommy Dreamer, vying over Christian's ECW Championship. After Christian retained the ECW Championship against the former champion, Jack Swagger, at Judgment Day, Swagger attacked Christian on the following episode of ECW and pushed him off the entrance ramp. Two days later, on Superstars, Swagger interfered in a title match between Christian and Dreamer, resulting in the match being ruled a no contest. On the May 26 episode of ECW on Sci-Fi, Swagger announced that Christian would be defending the championship against him again at Extreme Rules, but the ECW general manager, Tiffany, stated that Dreamer had been added to the match, making it a triple threat hardcore match, a match with no disqualifications or countouts, and the first man to score a pinfall or submission would win. As Dreamer's contract with the company expired one day before the show, it was announced that he had signed a one-day extension to give him a chance at winning the title; if Dreamer were to fail to win the title, he would no longer wrestle for ECW. Aftermath On the episode of Raw following Extreme Rules saw Randy Orton and his protégés, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase (collectively known as The Legacy), exact revenge on Batista by assaulting him, forcing him to vacate the WWE title (in reality, Batista had suffered a legitimate tear in his Biceps brachii muscle, sidelining him for four months); Triple H made his return that night, attacking The Legacy, leading to a Fatal Four Way match between Orton, Triple H, John Cena, and The Big Show. Orton won the match, only to have Triple H be named number one contender after winning a 10-man battle royal by last eliminating Cena. Following CM Punk's World Heavyweight Championship win at Extreme Rules, Punk was confronted by both Jeff Hardy and Edge over the circumstances in which he had won title. He had his first title defense on the June 15 episode of Raw against both former champions in a successful effort before Theodore Long announced Punk was to defend against Hardy at The Bash. With Chris Jericho winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship, he continued to abhor the behavior of Rey Mysterio, carrying his mask as a trophy; the following week on SmackDown had Mysterio interfere in his rival's match against CM Punk before challenging the champion, wagering his mask for the title. Results Other on-screen personnel See also * List of WWE pay-per-view events * Extreme Rules Category:Extreme Rules Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events Category:2009 Pay-Per-View Events